JOHN FLOYD

The issue of free trade verses protectionism has been with us throughout American history with national sentiments going one way and then later the other, only to come back and the cycle has gone on. Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.

This quotation is referred to by these who debunk the myth that everyone was armed in early America. This was so on the frontier where there were potential Indian hostilities but in the rest of the country guns were not a part of everyday life or the culture. Even hunting was not that common an activity as raising cattle and farming was a much more reliable method of assuring a good food supply. The quotation is also often referred to in discussions regarding preparedness. This was an early example where the effect of peace and quiet was to diminish government budgetary commitment to military preparedness. . Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.

He had introduced a bill to provision a military garrison at the mouth of the Columbia River on the West Coast and protect and develop trade with China and India. President Monroe was for it and he persuaded the House to vote for it, but the bill to encourage foreign free trade with the Orient died in the Senate. Floyd was another American ahead of his time. . Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.

The issue of free trade verses protectionism has been with us throughout American history with national sentiments going one way and then later the other, only to come back and the cycle has gone on. Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.

He had introduced a bill to provision a military garrison at the mouth of the Columbia River on the West Coast and protect and develop trade with China and India. President Monroe was for it and he persuaded the House to vote for it, but the bill to encourage foreign free trade with the Orient died in the Senate. Floyd was another American ahead of his time. . Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.

This quotation is referred to by these who debunk the myth that everyone was armed in early America. This was so on the frontier where there were potential Indian hostilities but in the rest of the country guns were not a part of everyday life or the culture. Even hunting was not that common an activity as raising cattle and farming was a much more reliable method of assuring a good food supply. The quotation is also often referred to in discussions regarding preparedness. This was an early example where the effect of peace and quiet was to diminish government budgetary commitment to military preparedness. . Floyd was very modern in his economic views, so much so that he, even as a Southern politician, opposed slavery on the grounds that it was economically inefficient and the South would never develop industrially if it had no incentive, as existed in the North and England, to reduce the amount of labor required for economic opportunity. He was right on that point as well.